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November 5, 2004
LOOKING FORWARD
A few days have passed, a few angry rants have been spouted, arguments had, and here we are, on the eve of another 4 years of Bush. What is worst to me about this election is not just that Bush was re-elected, but that it has revealed to me just how socially conservative our country is. Exit polls (yes, exit polls are of dubious accuracy, but work with me here,) indicate that nearly a quarter of voters believe that "Moral values" were the most important issue in this election. More important than the war in Iraq, more important than the economy, more important than education. And yet how can these people call Bush a moral man? How can you call a man sending our soldiers off to fight an unjust war "Pro-Life"? How can a "compassionate conservative" want to write an amendment to the country's Constitution to deny rights to its own citizens? Perhaps it's naivete, or perhaps it's just the product of living in the Bay Area for the past 6 years, but this honestly took me by surprise. I had more faith in our country's capacity for tolerance, and I was sorely let down.
So what now? It's easy to be angry -- it's easy to say "F- You Red States!", to talk about seceding, to talk about moving to Canada. And yet, rather than being angry, we need to accept that, like it or not, George Bush was chosen in a fair election. For whatever reason, 59 million American voters believe that Bush was the right choice. Instead of being resentful, we need to pick ourselves up off of the floor and try to start putting the pieces of our shattered country back together. I believe John Kerry was absolutely right when he said that our country is deeply divided. But we need to let these 59 million people know that there are alternatives to Bush's policies of fear and hate. Nobody is claiming that this is easy or even fair, but there is that faint glimmer in me that believes that people are fundamentally good, and it refuses to go away.
I think Buddy's friend Marty summed it up quite well here:
Upon reflection, I have come to understand that now, more than ever, we need individuals who are willing to stick it out for the long haul to effectively challenge and educate their peers about the skewed values of corrupt leaders and the human rights offenses which frequently accompany their policies and their theologies of war. A goal equally important to education is that of teaching people to genuinally care about what is going on. There are so many decent people here...so many people just on the periphery, who if they only had a little more information and support, would let their caring, nurturing sides shine through.
[02:33 PM]
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eep, i'm slightly embarrassed, since i think in one of my entries i did write "f*** you red-states." heh. i think i've passed the anger stage now, and am in acceptance and want to do something positive instead of sitting around whining. ;) we'll see =D
You're absolutely right that you can't just say 'F- you red states', because there are no red states and blue states, just shades of purple. Am I a worse liberal for living within arbitrary geographical boundaries that happen to contain more republicans than democrats? 44% of the people in California voted for Bush. I am getting very frustrated listening to CA liberals complain about the 4.5 million Bush voters in TX without even mentioning the 4.4 million Bush voters in CA. Just because you have the conservative voters outnumbered in your state doesn't mean that they don't exist!
The point I'm trying to make, I guess, is that if you want to understand Bush voters, you probably don't have to look as far away as you think. Also, talk of seceding really hurts the Democratic agenda-- it sends a message to southern conservatives that you despise them.
It's okay, Domi. I think that all of us at one point at least thought it. :)
Have you been to www.fuckthesouth.com yet?
Ha ha. No, I hadn't seen that before. That's a lot o' profanity.
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